Yeah! We need Men, not women and children ;-)
isabel
-----Original Message-----
From: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion
[mailto:
ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU] On Behalf Of Derry, Robbin
Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2010 9:33 PM
To:
ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Subject: Re: A Spiritual Disaster: Reflections on the Gulf Coast
thank goodness we have some real men around willing to do the hard work of
vivisecting the corporations instead of just engaging in the sweet
sentiments of the women and children.
Robbin
-----Original Message-----
From: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion on behalf of Jon
Entine
Sent: Sat 6/5/2010 5:37 PM
To:
ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Subject: Re: A Spiritual Disaster: Reflections on the Gulf Coast
Barbara,
You've expressed a very sweet sentiment, that I would bet no one disputes.
Everyone, especially women and children (and me for that matter) embrace
'protecting the planet'
However, such nice thoughts provide no helpful guidance in the current
situation, at least none that I can think of. Please try to translate these
feelings into some practical critique of the current situation.
Would are you proposing?
It's clear that BP cut health and safety corners over many years. In that
regard, they are probably marginally--and only marginally--worse than most
organizations, business, or NGOs.
In this case, I personally hope its excutives are prosecuted for criminal
negilgence and criminally negligent homicide and are sent to jail. If BP
went out of business and was acquired, I'd certainly shed no tears. You may
not remember but as recently as 2009 (yes, last year) BP was held up by the
socially responsible investment community as a MODEL.
Don't believe me. Check out Walden Asset Management, which in mid 2008, told
Congressional Quarterly Researcher why it held shares in British Petroleum.
It's then head, Timothy Smith said the company "continues to be a leader"
among energy companies. He called it the best in its sector.
What? He wasn't alone. For years, BP had snookered the socially responsible
business community, which until recently always was driven by sweet thoughts
instead of hard data.
I've been vivisecting BP far before it became fashionable by distraught
residents of the southern US and academics to criticize it. I dove into its
records after the Texas explosion a few years ago and found that it had a
historic culture of taking the low road on safety (in comparison, the Darth
Vader of oil companies, ExxonMobil, has clearly emerged as the most
responsible energy company, but it can't shake the prejudices of those who
favor sentient over hard data).
It's not at all clear however that if BP had been extra vigilant--or had had
embraced the more sophisticated safety standards at ExxonMobil and Shell,
for example-- that this catastrophe would not have occurred. This event was
an extremely low probability, high catastrophic event. Even BP's sharpest
critics--at least ones who have even a passing understanding of the
geophysics of deep sea oil drilling--do not believe that even if it had
state of the art equipment this could have been prevented.
It's a catastrophe; BP earns big bucks, so it deserves to pay every penalty
in the book and beyond when it screws up even if the event could not
reasonably have been prevented. That's the laws of capitalism. Every one of
those guys at senior levels of responsibility should be fired and
prosecuted. That's the trade off for earning those big bucks...high reward,
high risk turned on its hea.
Like it or not, everything in our world is filtered through cost benefit
analysis. You like to fly to cushy academic meetings? That takes energy, and
cheap energy. You can't get energy without cost and risk. We may as a
country or society recalibrate what benefits we want based on what risks we
want to take...we may decide for example that it's worth living with
airplane fares that are triple what they are now to cut down the dangers of
carbon pollution or even the risks of some accidents. But even then, low
probability catastrophic events WILL happen. If you believe otherwise, you
have not assessed history, science or human nature.
Okay, you're against "consumption." What do you mean..in real practical
terms. Will you turn in your car? Give up plane travel? It's a heartwarming
sentiment to be against harming the planet, but that only means you feel
exactly the same as everyone else in the world.
The tired attack on "corporate exeutives"--in the absence of critical
thinking--is just that tired.
Please...advance this discussion with some critical thinking, rather than
just emotion. Attacks on "corporate greed" are just silly.
Sorry to be so blunt, but the lack of critical analysis that is now spewing
forth, like a broken oil pipe, is remarkable.
The consumption paradox is a genuinely complex issue. Reducing it to
ideological talking points just allows the status quo to remain in place.
Jon Entine
www.jonentine.com
ESG MediaMetrics |
www.ESGMediaMetrics.com
Ethical Corporation
www.jonentine.com | 513.319.8388
-----Original Message-----
From: Lafferty, Barbara [mailto:
lafferty@USF.EDU]
Sent: Saturday, June 5, 2010 04:51 PM
To:
ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Subject: Re: A Spiritual Disaster: Reflections on the Gulf Coast
Ah, a kindred spirit. For many, many years, I have wondered why we have not
become more enlightened as a species. What would it take to move mankind to
a higher level of consciousness so we become responsible stewards of this
planet? After all, if we destroy this planet, we destroy ourselves. Sadly,
most people still do not know or understand their connection to all living
things and how the extinction of even one species can have a ripple effect
that ultimately impacts humans on some level. In our consumption driven
world, most people still define themselves by what they possess.
Does caring for future generations have a larger spiritual dimension that
transcends the basic dimensions of the triple bottom line? Yes, I believe it
does. But to embrace the spiritual dimension means to let go of egocentrism
and greed. Apparently, not something that is easy for most corporate
executives to do. What most of these executives do not seem to realize is
that their shortsightedness will ultimately come back to haunt them as
co-residents of planet earth. They are not immune to the destruction they
reap on this planet.
The challenge becomes how can corporate executives be persuaded to move
toward spirituality? It seems rather oxymoronic to convince them that
greater spirituality in running their company will generate greater profits
the very thing which currently motivates them. Very few CEOs think like Ray
Anderson of Interface. When asked in an interview why he was climbing Mount
Sustainability, he replied, "When I stand before my Maker, is he going to
ask me about shareholder value? I don't think so."
As a resident of Florida, I share your anger, frustration, sadness, and
despair as I watch the destruction in the Gulf wrought by corporate greed
and lack of government oversight caused by political capitulation to
corporations. If this unprecedented destruction of a precious eco-system,
one that will take untold years to recover, is what it takes to raise our
consciousness, then this is a high price indeed for enlightenment and a
sorry commentary for man.
"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the
rest of the world." - John Muir
*******************************************
Barbara A. Lafferty, PhD
Associate Professor
University of South Florida
Department of Marketing
College of Business
4202 E. Fowler Ave. BSN3403
Tampa, FL 33620-5500
(O) 813-974-5998 (Fax) 813-974-6175
http://coba.usf.edu/departments/marketing/faculty/lafferty/index.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion
[mailto:
ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU] On Behalf Of Stead, Jean Garner
Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2010 11:03 AM
To:
ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Subject: A Spiritual Disaster: Reflections on the Gulf Coast
I was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, attended Auburn and LSU, and
spent almost every summer vacation on the beaches of the Gulf coast, until
this summer. I spent last weekend walking the beautiful white beaches,
swimming in the clearest of blue waters, and eating the most incredible
seafood at a local joint in Panama City, FL. I was saying good-bye to a
family tradition that would forever be altered by the BP oil spill. I
canceled the house on the beach in Gulf Shores, AL, which had been reserved
for August so Ed and I could introduce our first grandchild, now a month
old, to his beach heritage. My heart hurts for all the babies who will no
longer know the magic of my Gulf coast.
The Gulf coast disaster can be easily examined within the framework of the
triple-bottom line. The economy, dependent on oil and fisheries, the
Cajun-Jimmy Buffet culture, and some of the most diverse ecosystems on this
planet are all being destroyed, becoming unsustainable for my grandchild as
well as yours.
Doesn't caring for future generations have a larger spiritual dimension
that transcends the basic dimensions of the triple bottom-line? I am
experiencing a spiritual disaster which is not captured within the
traditional dimensions of sustainability. The tears flow freely and my heart
hurts as I see the images of the oil-soaked wildlife, the oil-polluted
wetlands, and the frustrated local business people on the Gulf coast as they
watch their way of life disappear. Spirituality must be the transcendent
dimension for moving mankind toward a more sustainable world...this disaster
is more than just unsustainable.
Would like to hear your thoughts...Jean
Jean Garner Stead, Ph.D.
Professor of Strategic Management
College of Business and Technology
East Tennessee State University
Website:
www.steadandstead.com
Email:
steadj@etsu.edu
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